The Supreme Court struck down Karnataka’s 2011 law confirming “corrupt” recruitment

View of the Supreme Court of India. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 29, 2026) declared unconstitutional the Karnataka state law that upheld the selection of Gazetted Probationers in 2011, which the court described as a “corrupt” and “blatantly nepotistic” recruitment process by the State Public Service Commission.

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran held that the Karnataka Civil Services (Verification of Selection and Appointment of 2011 Batch Gazetted Probationers) Act, 2022 was clearly enacted with the intention of overturning the judgments of both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court. The courts upheld the decision to quash the entire 2011 recruitment process for 362 posts of Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ officers.

“When the annulment has been upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court, the legislature has no power to annul the annulment, even by statute, thereby nullifying the judgments of the constitutional courts,” Justice Chandran said.

Changing positions

The court highlighted how the state government, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, kept changing its stand over the decades “depending on the hues and colors of the changing times”. Over the years, the state has vacillated between supporting the repeal of the entire hiring process and passing the 2022 bill, leaving hapless candidates stuck in the crosshairs of shifting political whims and systemic failure.

“When the winds of politics change direction, it is the common man who gets caught in the storm… The 2011 recruitment still hangs fire and threatens the aspirations of many… The six appellants (represented by senior advocate Shyam Divan), who would have been overage, are now tirelessly pursuing their cause in their zeal to join the Karnataka Civil Services.

1,38,307 people applied for the recruitment process in 2011. Two years later, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigation found “gross manipulations” in the process and “irregularities in the evaluation of answers were found to be shockingly egregious”.

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the quashing of the entire recruitment under the 2011 notification. It said no capital could be given to the unblemished successful candidates, represented by senior advocate Sanjay Nuli, who were selected under the 2022 Act. The court termed the law as a “dead law”.

“The lofty ideal enshrined in the 2011 Batch Gazetted Probationers justice delivery legislation falls on deaf ears…Having found the 2022 Act unconstitutional, we cannot but state that the appointments made on the basis of tainted recruitment will also come to an end,” the court ruled.

Age relaxation

Directed the Government of Karnataka to advertise the recruitment of vacancies in Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ services as per existing recruitment rules. The nominated candidates who were not found tainted, the six appellants in the Supreme Court and the petitioners before the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal will be given an age restriction to appear in the recruitment process as a one-time opportunity.

If they are selected, the court said their time served will be counted only from the date of appointment. They would not be entitled to any back pay or notional appointment from an earlier point.

Published – 29 Oct 2026 22:06 IST